Worth the wait

Worth the wait

Cards avoid sweep against Cubs

MLB.com ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals issued a reminder to the Cubs that they are not conceding the National League Central. Matt Holliday belted a two-run homer and Carlos Martinez helped himself by hitting an RBI single to lead St. Louis to a 5-3 victory over Chicago on Wednesday to avoid being swept.

Martinez remained unbeaten in his career against the Cubs, striking out five over seven innings and allowing just three hits, including Anthony Rizzo's fourth home run, to improve to 30 for the season.

Kyle Hendricks took the loss, and he was lifted after 5 1/3 innings to end the Cubs' starting pitchers' season- long streak of going at least six innings. Chicago starters had gone at least six frames in each of the first 14 games, the first time that had happened since 1910.

Rain interrupted play prior to the bottom of the seventh inning, and the game resumed after a delay of three hours and 21 minutes. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Robbing Rizzo: Cardinals center fielder Randal Grichuk made a leaping catch over the left-centerfield wall in the first inning to prevent Rizzo from putting the Cubs on top with what would have been a two-run homer. The catch loomed large after the Cubs scored two runs in the eighth inning, cutting the Cardinals' lead to one run at the time.

No-doubter: Rizzo made sure nobody could catch the ball he hit leading off the fourth inning. He launched the first pitch from Martinez, a 94-mph fastball, to right field, and, according to Statcast™, it was the hardest-hit home run ever by Rizzo, registering a 111.3-mph exit velocity. His previous high was 110.8 mph on Sept. 4, 2015. Rizzo added an RBI single in the eighth.

Deuces wild: After scoring one run in the previous 18 innings, the Cardinals jumped on the Cubs with two runs in both the first and second innings. Holliday's two-run home run in the first got the Cardinals started. Yadier Molina doubled and scored on a wild pitch, and Martinez singled home Kolten Wong in the second to give the Cardinals the early 4-0 lead. Late night: The plus side to the lengthy rain delay for the Cubs was that Martinez was done for the day. In the eighth, Dexter Fowler greeted Seung Hwan Oh with a leadoff single and Jason Heyward then walked. One out later, Fowler scored on Rizzo's single, and Kris Bryant was safe on a fielder's choice as Rizzo was forced out at second base. Heyward scored on the play, much to the delight of the Cubs fans who stayed at Busch Stadium, waiting for play to resume.

By Carrie Muskat and Joe Harris